Until I tried my Elna Quilt Pro Queen 9 yrs ago, I worked on a Deluxe mechanical, which had been an upgrade when my kids (now 30's ) were babies. I paid a pretty penny (although not as much as list as I bought at a show and not as much as some of these newer ones) and it was well worth it. I love the needle up/down feature, the lock stitch for starting/stopping a stitch line, the ability to move the needle over and also ability to drop the presser feet, a built in walking foot, a hopping foot, about 23 fancy stitches, including limited monograms, and speed control (nice when FMQ). When I gave my $90 Brother to my DIL, I needed a new travel machine for sew days at guild, retreats, classes. I purchased a Brother (Simplicity??) that is a much cheaper computerized (so is the Elna) with many of those same features without the multitude of stitches. I will never buy another machine without a needle up/down feature! So while I have a treadle, the Deluxe, a Conway industrial and a Gammill Long Arm, I truly love that Elna--both the wonderful stitches and the ease of use.